Weekend Awareness in 2012

My word for 2012 is AWARE.

“The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware.” ~Henry Miller

To the extent that our human nature allows, I think I do a pretty good job of being “drunkenly aware” of my girls. Don’t you just love that? Drunkenly aware. Take it all in. Acknowledge it. The good, the bad, and the smelly. Appreciate it.

I’m trying to challenge myself in the other areas of my life, though. I know I’m on auto-pilot far too often.

One example I’ve used for years is driving home from the grocery store. How many times do you get home and have no idea what you saw on the way? Having the girls in the car, I know I’m more AWARE in that particular example…we point out all the buses and mail trucks and cows and blooming trees…but it’s still a great reminder to me.

So far this year, a big focus of being AWARE for me is acknowledging my to-do list every day and every week. I got a great planner, and I write a list of weekly goals, and a daily to-do list. I certainly don’t mark everything off my list, but seeing things in black-and-white helps me focus during nap time and at night…when it’s far too easy to get lost on the computer or lulled in front of the fireplace.

For me, it’s about AWARENESS, and being INTENTIONAL. Julia uses that word – intentional – and it always gives me pause. I am not saying I have to fill every moment with a task. Certainly there’s beauty in being lulled in front of the fire. But I want to appreciate that lull…not just fall haphazardly into it.

Another area of focus – one that I’ve worked a bit on, but still have so very far to go – is being AWARE of the physical “stuff” in my surroundings. Like driving home from the grocery store, it’s so easy to walk past the same pile of mail on my counter, or dig in my junk drawer to find the stamps, day after day after day.

I’ve cleaned out my junk drawer and organized my spice cabinet. I’ve recognized that pantry organization is a monthly chore. Stepping back to look at my routines – to be AWARE – and making things work better for me makes me feel so much better all around.

So…I can definitely cite steps I’ve taken towards being more AWARE in the first two months of this year. Starting this weekend, I’m going to post about it weekly. I want to be more keenly AWARE of my AWARENESS. (Did you follow??? HA!)

Like my weekly list of goals and daily to-do list, I know some black-and-white accountability is a powerful thing.